Criticisms And Performance Of Call Centres

Criticisms of call centres generally follow a number of common themes, from both callers and call centre staff. From callers, common criticisms include

operators working from a script.
non-expert operators (call screening).
incompetent or untrained operators incapable of processing customers' requests effectively.
overseas location, with language and accent problems.
automated queuing systems. This sometimes results in excessively long hold times
complaints that departments of companies do not engage in communication with one another.
deceit over location of call centre (such as allocating overseas workers false English names)
requiring the caller to repeat the same information multiple times.
Common criticisms from staff include

close scrutiny by management (e.g. frequent random call monitoring).
low compensation (pay and bonuses).
restrictive working practices (some operators are required to follow a pre-written script).
high stress: a common problem associated with front-end jobs where employees deal directly with customers.
repetitive job task.
poor working conditions (e.g. poor facilities, poor maintenance and cleaning, cramped working conditions, management interference, lack of privacy and noisy).
impaired vision and hearing problems